Today, the family of Olatunji Balogun handed over a collection of his work to the Leo Bradley Library in Belize City. Balogun, who died last year at seventy years old, gained the reputation as a black conscious activist, historian and educator in Belize. He has written many books and recorded material on the plight of […]
President of the Belize National Teachers’ Union, Senator Elena Smith, has confirmed to News Five that the ten Union branches this weekend voted to withdraw donations and contributions to those school managements who deduct salaries from teachers that protested against violence in March. It comes amid confirmation that school managers have decided to go ahead […]
A common theme of our reporting over the years on the Primary School Examination is that English, Social Studies and Science have all been less challenging to exam-takers than Mathematics, and specifically the Paper Two, problem-solving section. This year, that narrative has changed, if only slightly. Students speaking to News Five at the examination centers […]
The Primary School Examinations are already half-marked – a computer scanner does the job for the multiple-choice English and Science papers, while selected teachers come in to mark the composition section. In past years, eyebrows have been raised over the content of the students’ work, from text message language to mature themes in writing. But […]
We have previously covered how students with “special needs” – the visually and hearing impaired; the handicapped; those with autism and developmental learning disabilities – have taken part in the Primary School Examination. There are more of those students this year than ever before, prompting the Ministry of Education to take special measures. Also noteworthy […]
What really are the importance and significance of the P.S.E. results? There is an annual debate about whether the teaching content gets through to the youths, and the majority of secondary schools place less emphasis on the scores than they do the regular Standard Five and Standard Six grades. But the P.S.E. as a mark […]
News Five has confirmed with the Belize National Teachers’ Union that there is an intention by school managements to dock a day’s pay for teachers, between five and seven hundred of them countrywide, who attended the March twenty-second Belmopan rally against violence to women and children. We are told that managements intended to implement this […]
It stands alone as Belize’s all-purpose center for special education. But sixty years on from its humble beginnings, Stella Maris School still has many struggles and challenges. While it has produced its share of upstanding citizens, the school has much more it would like to do for its current and future enrollment, but it cannot […]
Today, visitors at the ITVET, Belize City, got the opportunity to experience the products and services made by students enrolled in the vocational and technical programs. Over four hundred students are studying to become mechanics, cosmetologists, carpenters, front-desk personnel, among other trades, and they took the day hold an open house to show just how […]
The Ariel Rosado Foundation held its annual ride along the George Price Highway this past Saturday. The riders traveled from Galen University Campus in Central Farm and ended at the Hour Bar Field in Belize City. The ride is used to generate funds for scholarships for at least forty students for the upcoming school year. […]
Approximately twenty teachers of Gwen Lizarraga High School this morning staged a sit-out from classes in continuing fallout over the appointment of members of the school’s board of governors. While from the outside it appeared as though things looked normal, the protesting teachers, we are told, remained inside the staff room rather than teach class. […]
This afternoon, Education Minister Patrick Faber told reporters that he was scheduled to meet with the teachers later on. He insists that as Collet area representative and education chief, he has tried to stay out of the school’s business. But in this case, he is willing to stand up for the former city councilor on […]
As for Doctor Lorna McKay, who was unceremoniously thrown out of her post last August, her case is still before the Teaching Services Commission. A ruling found evidence to support a few of the charges raised by the Gwen Liz High School Board, but not enough to warrant dismissal. Here is how Faber explained it. […]
The Lions Clubs International Peace Poster Contest has been ongoing for thirty years; this is the eleventh year since Belize has been competing. The competition encourages young people between the ages of eleven and thirteen to express their perspectives on peace through the creative art of drawing/painting. After competing in their respective countries, the winner […]
Young persons left scarred and traumatized by gun violence gathered today in the city as police look for new opportunities to keep them away from crime. They are students from a school in the Saint Martin de Porres area which has been one of the city’s hotspots. Today, survivors of gun violence addressed them on […]
Two volleyball athletes attached to the Belize National Team are receiving an opportunity of a lifetime. Twenty-three-year-old Bryton Codd and team captain Karym Coleman have been handpicked by a Canadian coach and awarded full athletics scholarships to Briercrest in Saskatchewan, Canada. Today inside the conference room at the Marion Jones Sporting Complex, both athletes signed […]
Last Thursday, Senator for Trade Unions and Civil Society, Elena Smith, was outside the National Assembly, rallying her members as president of the Belize National Teachers’ Union in the fight against crime. Today, she was inside, reviewing the performance of the education and social sectors in the last year and the plans for the coming […]
The fourth round of the Open Campus Council Meeting of the University of the West Indies took place today at the Starfish Jolly Beach Resort in Bolans Village, Saint Mary’s, Antigua and Barbuda. The meetings are held by the council chairpersons, including Belize’s own Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Doctor Luz Longsworth, to review the […]
On Thursday, the teachers protested on Independence Hill following a rally at the civic center and a march through the streets of the Capital City Belmopan. They were championing the safety of women and children, who in recent times have increasingly become victims of violence and sexual abuse. As they did back in 2016, the […]
Today, the U.S. Embassy in Belize organized two informative and motivational talks with students in Belize City. In the first session, Rhea Rogers of the Ministry of National Security spoke with one hundred and eighty Saint Catherine Academy students about women, peace and security. The second talk saw Belizean biochemistry researcher and PhD student Aimee […]
Flores is a biochemistry researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles who is making big waves in the research field in the U.S. As a student, Flores excelled in school locally and eventually relocated to pursue studies, where she is wrapping up a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology. She is currently doing research […]
As the budget debate took place inside the National Assembly, across Independence Hill at the civic centre, teachers were also having their say. Their call was for an end to the violence against women and children. Among the thick crowd of educators, were victims and families of persons living with the pain of abuse. Powerful […]
At the start of his presentation on the Budget, Minister of Education Patrick Faber issued a response to the teachers. While Faber has had his issues with the union in the past and recently accused their leadership of having lost their way, today he offered somewhat of an olive branch, suggesting that the union could […]
The B.N.T.U. will take to Belmopan on Thursday to hold a rally in light of the abuse and violence against children and women. According to President Elena Smith, the B.N.T.U. has written to the Ministry of Education to call off classes on Thursday, but they have not yet received a response. Chief Education Officer Doctor […]
Since the announcement of the rally, there have been a number of memos issued to teachers. Those memos say that those who do not show up to teach on Thursday will not receive the day’s pay. Smith says the managing authorities have the responsibility to inform the teachers of what the possible consequences may be, […]
